Winds reach 60 mph as huge storm moves ashore

Strong winds hit San Diego County ahead of rain

Ready for the storm

Mary Lundy, originally of Chula Vista, but now homeless and living on the Island Avenue overpass of interstate 5 is concerned with the amount of wind a little after noon on Friday before the heavy weather hits.
John Gastaldo

Storm is coming

John Gastaldo

Larry Smoots emerges from his tent wrapped in a tarp on Island Avenue over Interrstate 5 downtown.

Homelessness drops across nation, but California count rises

Updated 8:12 pm, Thursday, November 17, 2016

Photo: Leah Millis, The Chronicle

Photo: Leah Millis, The Chronicle

Photo: Genaro Molina, LA Times Via Getty Images

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LOMITA, CA – FEBRUARY 23, 2016 – Richard Lopez, 32, sits in his homeless encampment trying to decide what belongings to gather before sanitation crews arrive to clear him out of an area called, “The Pit,”

Photo: Kevork Djansezian, Getty Images

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LOS ANGELES, CA – SEPTEMBER 23: A homeless man sleeps on a bus bench on September 23, 2015, in Los Angeles, California. Mayor Eric Garcetti and City Council members declared public emergency, the first city in .

Photo: David McNew, Getty Images

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LOS ANGELES, CA – NOVEMBER 20: Fernando Lopez bathes and does laundry in the Los Angeles River on November 20, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. With the approach of devastating winter storm conditions due to … more

Homelessness across the United States fell slightly last year but increased in California and other West Coast states, largely due to a shortage of affordable housing, federal officials said Thursday.

Around the nation, homelessness was down 3 percent amid growing scrutiny of the problem. In California, however, homelessness climbed 3 percent, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s annual snapshot assessment of homelessness in America.

“We have a lot left to do,” said HUD Secretary Julian Castro, adding that the incoming Trump administration had a responsibility to continue the effort. “I sure hope the next administration will take the baton and make more progress, and not drop the baton.”

Nationwide, Castro said, there were 549,928 homeless people counted in the “point-of-time” homeless census conducted in January.

LET”S HOPE OUR NEW PRESIDENT & OUR NEW HUD Secretary can do something about it.

Portland, Oregon is raising taxes on companies with CEOs making 100 times employee salaries — and giving the money to the homeless

Chris Weller
Dec. 9, 2016, 12:21 PM 26,565

In an effort to combat homelessness, the city government in Portland, Oregon has passed a law that raises corporates taxes on companies whose CEOs make significantly more than their employees.

Companies will see a 10% increase on their tax rate if the CEO makes 100 times the average employee and a 25% increase if they make 250 times the average salary, The Guardian reports.

The stated goal of the policy is to help decrease the homeless population in Portland, which accounts for roughly 1,800 people sleeping on the street each night. In April, local NBC News affiliate, KGW, declared the problem was a “crisis” that had hit a “breaking point.”